Small waves and a steady offshore wind offered ideal conditions for taking to the air during the South Bay Boardriders ET Surf contest at 26th Street in Manhattan Beach on February 10. Photos by Scott Harris…

Best of the Beach 2018 is a vote of thanks

Best of awards are really gratitude ceremonies. They are an expression of appreciation for those whose extra effort makes life a little bit richer than it would be otherwise. Just how much richer is evident in the stories and photos of local retailers and service professionals who appear in the following pages.

Nearly 3,000 readers participated in the Best of the Beach 2017 balloting, a number that exceeds the ballots cast in the last Hermosa Beach election (2,174). It’s notable that almost all of the honorees are small businesses whose owners have chosen to “dig deep, not wide.”